Nurseries in Sikkim, Darjeeling wilt as lockdown hits king of orchids

The Cymbidium is known as the king of orchids, the most elegant,
expensive and sought-after among all variants of the exotic plant. For
the nurseries of Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills, the plant is a
lucrative source of revenue, much in demand as an adornment in corporate
lounges and luxury hotel foyers, at weddings and other galas.

A
single stem of the Cymbidium retails for as much as Rs 700 in Indian
metros.In recent weeks, in the aftermath of the lockdown for the
coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that started on March 25, nurseries in
the Himalayan region throwing the flowers away.

The emergency
measure went underway when production of the Cymbidium was at its
peak.March and April are the peak season for Cymbidium cultivation and
also the end of its harvesting season. Almost half the annual
production is harvested in these two months. Flower farmers stopped
harvesting the flowering plant when the lockdown began.

“The only
option for us is to cut the flowering stems and throw them away,” said
Prakash Chettri, marketing manager of Mainaam Garden at Namchi in
Sikkim.

“The plants have to be maintained and for this we have to cut the
stems. But neither can we transport these nor can we take so many
flowers home. We have dumped thousands of flowers.”

The flower
farm is owned by Tika Maya Chamling, wife of former chief minister
Pawan Chamling. It is the largest orchid farm in Asia with around 100
employees and an annual turnover of Rs 5 crore, said Chhetri.

The
farm, spread across 20 acres, had been hoping to sell around 150,000
Cymbidium stems this year. It sold around 100,000 stems in 2019.

“Cymbidium orchids are the most sought after at star hotels, at big
parties, weddings and government programmes around the world,” said
Chamling.

“Though tropical and temperate varieties of orchids are
comparatively cheaper and grown in a lot of places, Sikkim and
Darjeeling hills, which have cold and humid climatic conditions, account
for more than 90% of the best varieties in the country. Cymbidium is
the most expensive among these,” she said.

Many nursery owners in
the Darjeeling hills started growing the Cymbidium because of
potentially huge demand for the flower both at home and overseas. The
lockdown has dashed their hopes.

Chamling said, “Russia recently placed orders with Mainaam Gardens
for 300,000 Cymbidium stems every month. Although we have 500,000 of 300
varieties, it was impossible for us to meet this demand. There is an
annual demand for 5 million Cymbidium stems in India against which only
150,000 to 200,000 can be produced.”

With an eye on the market, many nursery owners in the hills of Sikkim and Darjeeling started growing the Cymbidium.

Bhaskar
Mukhia, owner of Mukhia Nursery at Pokhriabong in Darjeeling, said,
“The lockdown has shattered us. Sikkim and Darjeeling hills have the
natural conditions required for {growing} these orchids. However, the
lockdown has forced many farmers to throw away the flowers.”

Sunil
Agarwal, chief executive officer of Darjeeling Gardens Pvt Ltd, which
has its nursery in Mirik and is the largest producer of the Cymbidium in
Darjeeling, said, “Fifty percent of the flowers is already wasted and
we dumped another 15,000 stems.”